Kerala: Snag hit railway relief vehicle on Day-1 on mishap day

Kochi: The new Rs 6-crore self propelled accident relief train (SPART) provided to the Thiruvananthapuram division a couple of months back developed a technical glitch on the very first occasion of its operation when it was deployed soon after the Thiruvananthapuram-Mangalore Express derailed at Karukutty last Sunday. The “failure” of the officials to keep the unit that can be rapidly deployed at accident sites fit for functioning was one of the main issues taken up by the four-member panel inquiring into the mishap during its evidence collection at the Ernakulam area manager’s office here.

“As per the standard operating practice, SPART needs to be sent to the mishap site within 25 minutes,” railway sources said. “It should be kept ready all the time by conducting test drives frequently. However, on the day of the mishap on August 28, the officials could not start the unit despite several attempts.” Though scheduled to reach the accident site in 10 minutes, the unit was finally taken there nearly one-and-a-half hours later.

“The message to send the unit was handed over by 2.20 am itself, five minutes after the mishap occurred. However, it could not be started,” the sources added. Manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai, the three-coach formation has advanced medical facilities that include an air-conditioned operation theatre and can go at a speed of 120 kmph. Unlike the conventional accident relief train which needs a separate locomotive to chug the formation, SPART is a self-propelled train with power cars at both ends. The formation can be operated both ways with loco pilots having to move to either ends.

Speed limited on Ekm-Shoranur line

Two days after the Karukutty train derailment, Southern Railways on Tuesday imposed a speed restriction of a maximum of 30 kmph at 11 points along the Ernakulam-Shoranur sector where the tracks were earlier detected to have‘rail fractures’. The development would mean trains would take an additional 30 minutes to cover the 107-km distance. The restriction is being implemented to facilitate permanent repair of the track through measures like welding.

“The permanent way inspection wing had found defects in the tracks at a total of 96 points, including rail fracture at 15 places,” a senior official of the engineering department said. “However, except for four points, only temporary repairs using bolts and nuts were done. The speed restriction will be imposed at these points till permanent repairs are carried out which may take two months.” An order to this effect was handed over to station masters and the restriction was first imposed on the Alapuzha-Kannur Express which left Ernakulam junction at 5 pm today.

Earlier, the Southern Railway Engineers Association claimed that track problems were detected at a total of 202 places in the Thiruvananthapuram-Shoranur section and that it would require rail replacement over a distance of at least 100 kms. Meanwhile, the four-member committee headed by chief safety officer John Thomas, which is probing the mishap that took place last Sunday, held evidence collection at the area manager’s office on Tuesday.

The locopilots and guards of the Thiruvananthapuram-Mangalore Express which derailed and that of other trains which had passed through the section on the day, supervisors and railway officials who reached the spot soon after the mishap, station masters of stations from Ernakulam to Thrissur, the section senior engineer who was suspended, concerned Engineering section officials among others deposed before the panel.

Meanwhile, K.C. Venugopal, MP, in a statement said he raised the issue of safe train operations in the state at Parliamentary Railway Convention Committee. “Railway Board Chairman A. K. Mittal assured that the Karukutty mishap and charges of negligence on part of officials in proper track maintenance will be probed. He will also depute Railway Board Member (Engineer) to visit the state and assess lapses in connection with proper maintenance  of railway tracks,” Venugopal said.